Adding machine



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES HENRY Wl'IH ADDING-MACHINE H, or New roan, N.

SPECIFICATION fciming'part of- Letters Patent No. 485,120, dated December 15, 1891.

Application filed Dec-niche:- 23, 1386. Serial No. 222,343.

To all whom it may canoe-rial.-

lcit known that I, CHARLES HENRY it can, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city, county, and State of New. York, have invented contain new and useful Improvements in Adding-Machines, (for which I.

units, t-ens," hundreds, be. In all machines of this class with which I am familiar there is a dependency of the several adding mechanisms, whereby the :carriesfiso called, are made-that is to say, in the decinlal sy*- tom the tens must be carried to the next 001-" nmn to the left, and in adding fractions, as in currency, the whole numbers must beso on rr'i ed. This has been effected heretoforeby some connecting -meclianism or dependent mechanism which I do not. employ. In my machine the movable part which bears the numerals destined to fornrthe partial sum also bears the carr- -numernls, and these latter are designated or broughtinto view by the movement of said part in adding.

So th as relates to the mechanical con ruetion of my machine the main characteristic is this: that. it is composed, as a whole,- of a number of mcchanisms;-any number may be embodied in oncmachine-cach of which is actuated and operates entirely independent if. all the others. For convenience I may call each of these an adding mcchanism.-

My construction enables me to add the numerals in, a column in any succession I choose; For example,- 1 may add-them together crosswise, from 'right to left or from left. to right, or i. may addtheln vertically in the usual way. The carries will then-appear atthc 'n'oper apertures, and these may then he added to complete the sum.

sh t. *3 has trees chine in the simplest manner possible, in ,or-

(No moclehl Patented in England June 25. 188 8, No. 9.269-

der to avoid too easy derangement of the parts and to secure economy in the man ufaoture.

My invent-ion will be hereim'il'tcr fully described, and its novel features carefully dcfined in the claims.

In the drawings, which serve to illustrate my invention, Figure l is-a front elevation of my improved adding-machine in its approved form. broken away at the left side. Fig. 2 is aside elevation of the machine, showing the righthand side as the machine is seen in Fig. 1. {Fig.3 is aview of the same side of the machine as that seen in Fig. but with the crank and side plate removed to show the interim Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view of the side opposite to that seen in Figs. 2 and 3 with a part of. the side plate broken away to disclose the ratchet mechanism. Fig. 5 shows the addingribbon or parts of same, detached. Fig. 6 is afragmentary front view of the machine with the slotted face-plate removed and the casing broken away to show the ribbon-cells. Fig. 7 is a detached detail view that will be herein after described.

Promising that the form, mode. of construction, and material of the casing of my ma- ,chine. may .be of any suitable lcind ornharaetor, I will describe said casing as shown eonstrueted in the drawings. This casing is usnall y constructed of sheet metal and comprises two parti-cylinders A and A',conneetcd by\a back plate A and a front plate A and two side plates A and A, the latter of which is usually made removable. The parti-ylindcrs A A are partitioned off to form cells to receive the adding-ribbons.

tinct adding mechanisms, all alike in construction, are embodied. These will serve to add up eight vertical columns of fign res, or, in decimal notation, tensof millions. On a shaft B, which is relatively mounted in the ribbon 1-0015 or drums C, which I prefer to make of wood. These are all alike, and one is clearly shown in Fig. The shaft B, I usually construct of a metal tube for the sakeof lightness, and in order to mount the drum 0 frictiona-iiy thereon I fix a leaf-spring a in a l'zorf cut in the end of the drum, so as to in- In this View a part of the face-plate is In the machine as seen in Fig. l eight dis-- parti-cylindcr A, are l'rictionally mounted.

front plate A 5 5 "rations d d,-and "on pl icity be exactly al ikc;

a slot b in the "Wound upon its that appear in the carries or tens or whole "maybe." The peculiar respective arrangement-of thesein'umbers and the manner in which they come into play-will he'hereinat'ter 35 in ,9; down over the front plate A,

tcrsect the hole in the center of the drum through which the shaft passes. q. presses constantly and elasticallyon the- On 'each drum C iswound hi1 adding-ribbon D,all of which ribbons-may for simtures, numbering, &7c., of; these ribbons will be hereinafter more minutely described. Each ribbon is led from its reel in the wall of the particylin derA, just above the depressed junction of oyliuderA u'iththe' dovyn'over said front plate A to and through V parti-cylinderw A' and i'nto the receiving-cell in the same. After being once ribbon has its free end to prevent said end from passing" when the ribboniis back through'the slot'b I I V drum or'=reel. jThe-ribbon D is perfectly flexible,'bnt-not limp. It is made quitethin, and injit, arranged in a lougi tudinalv row; are :formedsmall holes 'o'r p'ert'o eaoh side' of said row-of;

holes .is' xi -rot? f figures or nnmbers'eand ef. The rovr e at'the right hand are the numbers sum aiterrthe addition is The row e? atrtho-left hand are the niade;

. I 1' When-the ribbonsare sit in place, extendthey are covered by a-fac e+plate E, usually secured to the casing of themachine byscrews. This face-plate stands toplayfreely, and in it are formed slots gg, onefor eacli'riobon, and in position .to expose .the rows-of perforations d in same;

Alongthe margin of each slot g and spaced in the same manner as the perforations in the ribbon its a rou: of numerals h,-.which begins with aci'p-her at the bottom of theslot and runs up. to any desired number, in the pres! cut case 30, but. it need only run: upto 9. These numerals form the adding-indexaud their number need only be limited by the length of. the machine. asniany 'a's twenty-may beadded at one my erat'ion. In the face-plate E, over theirows of numerals e on'the ribbons, are formed apertures 1',

each large enough to exhibit one numeral.

- This 'row'of apertures 'iexh'ibits the-numersurnafter each adding operat-he'distauce apart of the numerals on the ribbon areformed apertures j, which are in positionto expose or exhibit the numerals in theme" c" on the ribbon. 'These apertures exhibit the numerals to be carried, and as it This 'spri ng 'lhe '-pecnliac' fea-. well be placed below.

7 p or drum G; =b through a slot 1), (s'een-best'ih .Fig.'6,-) formed Thence tthe ribbon "is led" :posite the second '1 moral l is repeated up to the third 1 in row a, when it changes to 2, and soon to the end' numbers, as thecase jus'thigh enongh'ab'ove the. ffront plate Aito leave room fen-the ribbons!) In thepresent case. I-l'enow proceeds .to add will sometimes happen that a sum .too great who expressed by one numeral, as 10 ll 12 -&c., must be carried, Iusnally make the .ap{ 'erturej wide enough to show two numerals. I arrange the apertures 17 and j above the convenience only. 'lheymight as These apertures i and jam merelycdesignators for the purpose of pointing out the proper numerals on the rib- Kong-as the machine is designed for addnni'qerals according to the decimal notatjon,an d as the adding-index I contains slots g-for twenty,- numerals, and as theapertures' tand j are arranged above the slots g, I construct my'adding-ribbon in this wise: I leave the lou erend of, the ribbon blankfrom the enlargement c at its lower end (see Fig. 5) up to the aperture 1; whe're the first character in the row ezappears; which in this ,caseis a cipher eh 'lhenumerals in this row are arranged'in successive series'of' ten ---viz., the nine digits and eipher-and these series vextend 't-hs'oughout its entire length. The

carry-numerals in row e begiu' with 1 opin row e,'and; this nu of-the ribbon, the space between thelastnu moral ofone series of row e and the first of tho next series being'opposite'to the space between the (land the 1 of th'ese'ries in row e. At the beginning the ciphers c all the apertures i. Now suppose that 99 is to be added to 99. Theoperatorplaoes a pointed instrument in the perforation d in therib'hon opposite thenumeral 9 of the right-hand or unit slot g apd draws do'wn'the' ribbon as farasthe-limit of the-slot will permit.- The-numeral; 9 will' now'appear at the 'riglibhand aperture 1'. He then repeats thisoperation and the nu'meral'8 will takethe place of the 9 atapertlire 2 and a numeral l-will appear at the right-hand carry-apiegturej. Thus he sees that the sum of 9 an the ten-sl0t-.g,the second from the right hand, and performs preciselythe same operation, as there"are t;wo-nines to add in the tencolumn, This will 'cause'an 8 and a 1 to appear there; at the'respective apertures 71 and and by adding the one hundred by means of the thirdribbon from the right. Thus he reaches the correct result 198, which will ap- Ip ear at the'three apertures i at the right in i". L it will be'observed that the numerals or digits composing a column to be added may be-added inany desired successi0n,rand that the operation of addingconsists simply in insorting apointed instrument one of the perforations d in the ribbon and drawing the ribbon down as far as the limit of the slot will allow. To en the tated will appear at equals eight units andone ten,which. letter must be'carried. He now proceeds to v the carries byaddlng one to. the-eight tens already found.

of any kind in' in row It at the margin lie instrument to enter the perforation in the ribbon fairly, I form a groove in the front plate rl behind the ribbon and coincident with the perforalionsd. atihe left-in Fig. l,\s1here the ribbon is broken away to expose i1. \Vhen the ribbons D are drawn down in adding, they coil themselves in the cellsin the parti'cylimler A, as seen in Fig. 3, and when the adding operation is completed the ribbons are again wound up on their drums C by means of a crank' F on the I projecting end of shaft 1%; butas all the ribbons are wound .up at once a-nd'a-s they will not usually be unwound (in adding) to an equal extent it is necessary that the drums shall not be fixedly attached to shaft B. \Vhen one ribbo'h 1s wound up, the enlargement 0 at its end stops its further movement? and its drum C slips on ribbons are woundnp. A ratchet device G (seen in Fig. i) prevents the shaft B from being turned backward. An inexperienced person might possibly disarrange theribbons by the'baekward notation of the crank it no means were employed to prevent such rotation. device forms'a convenient backstop. V

It is also essential that theshat'l; B should be held absolutely stationary while adding. To effect this I mount the handle lof crank h on the free end of a leaf-spring m, secured to the crank, and arrange a beveled 'Wipe or latch n on the under side of said spring, which wipe snaps over and engages a fixed inc-lined stop 0 on the side plate of the easing, as best seen in Fig. 7. When the ribbons are wound up, the operator continues to turn shaft 1) until'all the the cranknntil latch 11. "engages the fixed in.-

' drums U and shaft 13 and allowing the rib:

clinc'o, and this-effectually, holds shaft 15' against backward rotation. To prevent the ribbon from springing back, after an adding operation, trom its resiliency, like a watchspring from its barrel, I so arrange the slot b with reference to the drum 0 that the ribbon is quite sharply bent as it is led through said slot, and its movement through the same is resisted by friction.

To form the "cells in the parti-ey'linder A, I usually spring an open 'ringa: of sheet; metal into said cylinder, (see "Fig. 3,) said ring havinga face width equal to the desired depth of the cell. Over this I place a flat disk yasa partition. Then I putin another ring 0;, and on this another disk y until all the cells are formed. This construction, however, is not essential.

I do lhil. limit myself to the precise construction and arrangementot theparts of my machine as herein shown, as some variation therein may be made without materially departing from my invention. For example, good results may be obtained by omitting the buns I) to coil up in cells in the cylinder A in the same manner that they coil up in the cells ip cylinder A. ever, it would be necessary to run back or This groove is seen This ratchet In this case, Lewcrank h, or 1' mighhusc a coil-spring to wind up the ribbon similar to that employed in tapemeasures. Iv may also employ some other mode of preventing the recoil of the ribbon than that shown-as a detent, for example.

I do not limit'myself to making the strip D in the form of a ribbon,'as it might be in the form of. a sliding plate, especially in large machines where long slides can be conveniently employed. Indeed, this part D, carryingthe' two rows of nunierals'e and mayhave-any suitable or convenient form or construction.

I have called said plate a ribbon, because that is the form it has, as herein shown,- and the form best adapted to small and compact machines.

I prefer to arrange the apertures-i and j above rather than below, because when arranged below they would be llnble'to be 0bsoured or covered by the hand oi the operator. The apertures j need not necessarily be arranged above the level of apertures 2'. They m i ght be arranged below said apertures, but not on a level therewith. The respective ar. rangement of the numerals in the rows e and e on the ribbon or strip D will be governed, of course, by the respective positions of the apertures. -i'ai1d j, For example-when the numeral of row 2, visible at aperture i, shifts from one series to the'next, as from '9 to 0, then the numeral of row e", visible at. holej, must shift from one series to the next, as from 1 to 2 or 2 to 3. As the apertures i andjare intended merely to designate, simultaneously, acertaiu numeral in. each row e and e by segregating them from the otliers, this designation may be effected by any convenient. means equivalent to that shown.

The leading feature of novelty D, however shaped or constructed, bearing the, row of numerals e to formthe sum and also the row of numerals e", which designate the amount to be carried, whereby both of these rows of numerals are compelled to move together, and, combined with this ribbon or part D, means for designatingor setting apart certain numerals in these rows, which function is performed in the present case by the aper'tu res rand i I have denominated the numerals in row e the sum numerals and those in 'row e the carry numerals; but this is only forconvcuience. 'lhe numerals of the two rows, taken together, indicate the sum-of the column of numerals being added, and if. the desiguatingapertures "z; and 3' were placed on the same level the numerals on the part D,

included in the rows e and c", would neces sea-31 be arranged in 'stmpie i-l'llilllletifiai order or sequence.

is the partposite the sired, be marked on the ribbonin row e opfirst .seriesof numerals in row -e.

-"lhe numerals may be stamped on the ribbon or applied in any way,

\Vhere the machine is designed for adding English currency, the right-hand ribbon will one-asthe markjor sign 'bon (or equivalent slide,

set right at starting.

or better if this character. were anarbitrary be reserved for far-thing's or half-pence, the

next for pence, and the next for shillings. Thepence-ribbon arranged in series of twelve, and the carries will-have'the numerals in row a will represent shilling-3.. The shilling-ribbon will have'thenumerals in row e .arranged in seriesottwenty, and the carrieswill represent pounds; If the right-hand ribbon were reserved for adding'fraction' s-as eighths, for

examplethen the ,numeralsin row e would be arranged in series of eight, and the carries. would represent wholc' numbers. This will bdreadily. ndersto'odby those familiar with such machines; ".lhe first cipher e at the bottom .of column or roiv e ongribbon D, Fig. 5, is not essential; but itisaconvenience, asit enables the operatorto -see-that his machine is It would serve as well From the foregoing seen that n y up of eight (in; this example) separate similar and independent adding mechanisms, each of which is an adding machine ofitself, and that able. parton which are marked a row of sumnumerals,.arranged in successive carry nnmerals, and in which movable part is a row of properly-spaced perforations,a plate each of these mechanisms has an adding-rili-. disk, plate, wheel, or other carrier) bearin g two series or rows e. and e of numerals, one'serieste form the sum. and the other serving to indicate the carries. These are characteristic general features of my invention. a I have statedthat the several addingme'chanisms in the machine are similar or alike,

and they-will be so or may be so inmost respects, the variation being mainly in the numerals on the part'D. For example, the numerals on said parts will'differ for pounds, shillings, and pence and for adding fractions, and the ribbon or part'D o'f'the mechanism at .the extreme left may have its n'umeralsarrs'ngedin simple arithmetical order, as he carries andlno, designator therefor will'he re'- qnirediu it:

Having thus described my invehtion; Iv

claim- 1. An adding-machinecomprising two or more independent adding mechanisms for adding theseveral columns ofnumerals, each f aid.mechanisms-comprising a movable each provided series or rows of numerals, an adding-index, .and means forde'signating the units-numeral provided with of addition, for

description it willlbemachine or instrument is made scribed, and a row at partbearing numerals arranged in series in the proper order for indicating the sum of its particular column, an index to guide the operator in moving said parts, and designators for desiguatingthe numerals of the partial sum and the carries, substantially as set forth. 2. In an adding-machine, the combination, withacasing, of a'flexible, resilient, or spring- 1ike adding-ribbon, which is movable longi tudinally, saidribbon being provided. with the uumeralswhich indicate the sum and car ries marked in rows or series thereon, and an index provided with a series of numerals to guide the operator in moving the ribbon, substantially as set forth.

3. In an adding-machine, the'combination, of two or more longitudinallywith a casing, movable parts D, mounted in said casing and with longit'ndinally-extendin g and the numeral orpurnerals to be carried,

4. In an adding-machine,-the combination, with th cells stops tolimit their movement in-one direction'and prevent them from being drawn entirelyout from their receiving-cells, the'drnms o r reels to which said ribbons are for the ribbons, of .the ribbons respectively attached'at one end, said'd'ru ms beingfrictionally mounted on acorn rnon shaft,

and the saidshatt. '5. .The combination, chine, of a front plate with cells at its ends to receive; the self-coiling adding-ribbon, the

face-plate:bearingthe index-numerals, the

dcsignators, and the self-coiling adding-ribbonsarranged over'the front plate and under the faceplate, said ribbon having in it perforations to receive an operatingstylus and bearingbn-it. the sour and carry numerals. substantially as set fort v 6.. An adding-machine comprising a movhaving on it a row of index-numerals arranged at the side of the row of perforations in said movable part and corresponding thereto, a

designator to point out the nu meral that is to designator'to {min t appear in the sum, and a out the numeral that is to be, carried, sub' stantially as set forth.

7. An adding-machine comprising a casing, a series of numerals bearing perforated independently-removable ribbons arranged in said casing and capable of moving'longitudi nally and adapted to coil at either end, a

slotted and. perforated face-plate arranged over'said series of ribbons, and means for ca rrying ba'ck'all of the ribbons at one operation.

8. An adding-machine comprising a movable'partl provided with a row of numerals arranged in' series from 0 to 9, another row of numeralsfor the carries, arranged abreast oi the latter in the sequence and manner deperteratiens fee-iii to form an adding-ma- 'IQo series, and

fete the movement of the part, and-a slotted face-plate arranged over said movable part, a column of iiulex-numerals, and designatingapertures, one over each row of numerals on the movable part to disclose said numerals.

9. An adding-machine comprising a mo\'-' able part- D, on which are marked a row e of numerals, arranged in successive series, a row e" of numerals for the carries and a row of perforation s d, a slotted faceplate arranged over said ribbon, having a column of indexnnmerals, and designators for pointing out the numeral of the row e that is to appear ill-the sum and the numeral of the row e" that is to be carried, substantially as set forth.

10. An adding-machine comprising two or more independent adding mechanisms for adding units, tens, &c., each mechanism comprising a movable ribbon bearing two rows of numerals and r! and a slottedface-plate arranged over said ribbon and provided with a row of index-numerals,-an aperture to disclose the numerals in row e, and another aperture to disclose the numerals in row a", substantially as set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

' CHAS. HENRY WEBB.

Witnesses:

HENRY CONNETT, J. T. BROWN. 

